I had this idea and I thought I should post it quickly as it looks like something similar will happen in tomorrow's episode. There will be two chapters. I really hope you enjoy it.

I also hope no part of the story is disrespectful to gypsies or travellers - I am very proud to have gypsy blood, though I don't follow many traditions, and no disrespect whatsoever is intended.


Ethan was exhausted. He'd had a very long shift and all he wanted was to sit down to have some dinner (which he was really hoping Cal might have cooked while Matilda was having one of her naps), have a hot bath and then get an early night.

He knew there was a fair chance that not all of this would go according to plan, but one thing he had expected to be able to do was to get through the front door.

Ethan shoved it a few times without success, then he got out his phone and called his brother, hoping that he wasn't elbow-deep in Matilda's nappy. "Cal? Have you put loads of stuff next to the front door again? I can't get in."

"Oh, yeah… I meant to move that," said Cal guiltily. "Just give me a minute."

A couple of minutes later, Ethan heard something being moved away from the door.

"Okay, Nibbles. You can come in now."

Ethan pushed open the door to discover the hall was full of suitcases. "Caleb, you're not leaving the country, are you?"

Cal gave his brother a triumphant smile. "No. We're going into the country."

"Are we?" said Ethan without enthusiasm.

"It's the best idea I've ever had!" said Cal - these words were always a bad sign. "Just think about it, Nibbles. You, me, Matilda, a caravan, three whole weeks in the country."

"A caravan?" Ethan said doubtfully. He thought he would be very happy in a caravan, but he wasn't so sure about Cal.

"It's a caravan in a traveller community," explained Cal, seemingly oblivious to Ethan's reaction. "One of the travellers is running a business by hiring out empty caravans."

"And were you planning on telling Mrs Beauchamp about this?"

"It was her idea," said Cal.

Ethan looked at him incredulously.

"She said we were both looking exhausted and we should take some time off," said Cal. "And you don't argue with the boss, do you? So it's all sorted. We're leaving tomorrow morning."

"Right," said Ethan faintly. "I suppose I'd better go and pack then."

"Oh no, not yet!" Cal looked quite shocked at the idea. "First you've got to go and say hello to your gorgeous little niece. Then you've got to come and eat the delicious meal I've cooked for you."

Ethan couldn't help smiling as he went off to obey Cal's instructions. There were worse things than coming home to a cooked meal and a beautiful baby girl.

He just wished he could be sure the holiday wasn't a ,mistake.


Cal took Matilda out of her car seat and showed her around the tiny caravan. "So, this is where you're going to sleep… this is where Daddy and Uncle Ethan are going to sleep… this is where we're going to wash your dirty…" He stopped. "Ethan, where's the washing machine?"

Ethan looked amused. "Cal, you can't hire a basic caravan like this and expect to find a washing machine. We'll just have to wash the clothes in the sink or drive into town to find a laundrette."

"The town's fifteen miles away!" said Cal. He was annoyed. The website hadn't said anything about the caravan not having a washing machine. He looked around the caravan again. He wasn't sure, but he had a feeling there was something else missing. Something very important.

It came to him in a flash of horror.

"Ethan, there's no bathroom!"

"Of course there's not," said Ethan patiently. "This is a gypsy caravan site, you said."

Cal was shocked by his brother's ignorance. "Traveller, not 'gypsy', Ethan. 'Gypsy' is rude."

"I believe the man who let you hire the caravan described himself as a gypsy," said Ethan. "But let's say 'Roma' for the sake of argument. Some Roma believe it's unclean to go to the toilet in a place where you prepare food. So washing your bodies and anything else that would usually take place in a bathroom takes place in a utility block – which was pointed out to us when we arrived."

Cal's horror continued to grow. "So that's what the utility block's for!"

Ethan smiled. "Cal, you really should research these things before you book. But I have no objection to a utility block. You have them on campsites after all."

"Okay," said Cal. "As soon as I've fed Matilda, I'm off to the utility block for a nice, hot bath."

"Um, I'm afraid you're almost certainly not," said Ethan. "Traditionally, Roma believe that it's disgusting to have a bath as it involves sitting in your own dirt. As these particular Roma are letting their caravans to non-Roma, it is possible that baths have been added to the utility block. But I would be inclined to doubt it."

Cal sank down on one of the beds and put his head in his hands. This holiday seemed less and less fun with every passing minute.

"How was your shower?" asked Ethan when Cal returned.

"Lovely and warm," said Cal. "But then I got cold again walking back here. Can you make me some tea to warm me up?"

Ethan grimaced. He'd known this moment would come, but he hadn't expected it to be quite this soon. "I can, but I'll have to go to the utility block."

Cal sighed. "Okay. You go and have your wee or whatever and I'll make it."

"No, that's not what I mean," said Ethan, a bit nervously. One of the problems with Cal was that he did sometimes blame Ethan when things weren't perfect. In this case, it wasn't Ethan's fault as Cal had made the booking, but that wouldn't stop him from blaming Ethan. "There isn't any running water in the caravan."

Cal stared at him, then he started to laugh. "Yeah, good one, Ethan. You nearly convinced me."

"No, I'm serious," said Ethan.

"So, if I turn the taps on, nothing happens?"

"I'm afraid not," said Ethan.

Cal shook his head. "You must be doing it wrong." He went over to the sink and turned on both taps.

Nothing happened.

"There's running water in the utility block," said Cal. "I'll get some from there."

Cal filled the saucepan with water and carried it carefully back towards the caravan. He saw a girl coming towards him and nodded in a manner he hoped would be interpreted as friendly.

The smile she gave him was rather shy, though not unfriendly, but her expression changed when she saw what he was holding. "What are you doing with that?"

"We have no running water in our house," said Cal. "We want to make a cup of tea."

The girl shook her head. "Oh, no. You can't drink water from the utility block. It's not clean water because we wash in there."

Cal looked into the saucepan in alarm. "So this is recycled water you've washed in?"

"Of course not," said the girl. "But you can't drink water from there. You just don't do it. But it's okay." She smiled at him. "There's a well at the other end of the field. You can use that."

"A well?" said Cal doubtfully. "Is it safe? We have a six-month old baby."

"We use it all the time," said the girl. "We've never had any trouble with it. If you want to use water from the utility block, I won't say anything, but some of us are more traditional than others. Drinking water from the utility block is actually considered really disgusting. Like… I don't know. Like going to the loo, not washing your hands and then eating with your fingers. If my dad caught you, he could have you thrown off the site. But the well is fine."


The holiday turned out to be much more enjoyable than the initial signs had suggested. The water company said they couldn't fix the problem until after the holiday had ended, but Ethan soon got used to going to the well for water and even Cal had got used to it by the end of the second week. The gypsies at the camp were mostly friendly and although some weren't, the same could be said of some of Cal and Ethan's neighbours in their block of flats.

"I'm almost sad we'll only be here for another week," said Cal.

Ethan nodded. "I do miss our colleagues, but I do love getting away from everything."

"I wasn't sure I could cope to begin with," admitted Cal. "But needing a wee in the middle of the night aside, I've quite enjoyed it." He smiled. "And so has Matilda, which is the important thing."

Ethan checked the time. "Speaking of my beautiful little niece, it's time for Matilda's feed."

"I'll do it," said Cal at once, and went over to the cot to see if she'd awakened from her nap.

Ethan returned his attention to the book he was reading. Usually, he had little time to read anything other than textbooks and research papers, but it had made a nice change to read novels instead.

"Ethan!" said Cal, his voice about an octave higher than usual. "Come quickly!"

Ethan threw his book aside and hurried to Cal's side. "What's wrong?" he said, but then he saw for himself.

The fact Matilda had thrown up all over her cot was no particular reason to worry. She was a baby after all. The fact she was dribbling copiously wasn't necessarily a problem either as she could be teething.

But the blue tinge to her lips showed that something was badly wrong.